A bathing system, such as a spa, typically includes various components such as a water holding receptacle, pumps to circulate water in a piping system, a heating module to heat the water, a filter system, an air blower, an ozone generator, a lighting system, and a control system for actuating and managing the various parameters of the bathing system components. Other types of bathing systems having similar components include, for instance, whirlpools, hot tubs, bathtubs, therapeutic baths, and swimming pools.
Typically, the control system of a bathing system includes a controller to which are connected the various bathing system components. The controller is adapted to control the power supplied to each one of the connected components. The controller receives input signals from various input devices such as, for example, a plurality of sensors that monitor the various components of the bathing system and a control panel allowing a user to control various operational settings of these components. In response to the input signals, the controller actuates, or de-actuates, the various bathing system components by supplying power, or ceasing to supply power, to those components.
The components in a bathing system, including the controller, are susceptible to abnormal operational conditions in which they operate in manners that do not correspond to their respective normal operational conditions. An abnormal operational condition can result, for example, from an operational failure in one or multiple components of the bathing system. Such an operational failure in a bathing system component can be due to a mechanical or electronic malfunction in the component, or to the component experiencing operating conditions for which it was not designed to operate in. For instance, inappropriate operating conditions can result from a blockage or clogging of the piping system leading to a pump and to a heating module of the bathing system, resulting in the pump operating at an inadequate flow rate and the heating module operating with an insufficient water level. An abnormal operational condition can also result from a decrease in operational efficiency of one or multiple components of the bathing system due to wear of the components in time.
Generally, abnormal operational conditions associated with the bathing system remain undetected by the controller and are thus not attended to for a certain period of time. As a result, the one or multiple bathing system components causing the abnormal operational conditions continue to operate in conditions for which they were not designed to operate in. This usually leads to accelerated wear of, or permanent damage to, the one or multiple components of the bathing system, which eventually results in total operational failure of the one or multiple components.
Consequently, it is normally only after the occurrence of a total operational failure of one or multiple components of the bathing system that an abnormal operational condition associated with the bathing system is detected. At that point, a bathing system service person or technician is typically brought in to investigate the abnormal operational condition experienced by the bathing system and to identify the potential component or components causing the abnormal operational condition. In doing so, the bathing system service person or technician typically has to run a series of tests on the controller and various bathing system components in order to pinpoint the one or multiple components responsible for the abnormal operational condition of the bathing system. The whole process is thus inconvenient, time-consuming and expensive for the bathing system owner, which is also likely to incur additional costs related to the repair or replacement of the malfunctioning bathing system components.
In light of the above, there is a need in the industry to provide a controller suitable for a bathing system that alleviates at least in part the problems associated with existing controllers.